The Environmental Law Institute® announced that Representative Sherwood L. Boehlert (R-NY) is the winner of their 2002 ELI Annual Award. Boehlert is currently Chairman of the House Science Committee. “I’m honored to receive this award, and also serve as a member of the ELI Board,” says Boehlert. “I’m proud of my record on the environment, and it’s very satisfying to be acknowledged in this way.”
Boehlert was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1982, and is serving in his tenth consecutive term representing Central New York’s 23rd district. Boehlert has served on the Science Committee since 1983, and was elected Chairman in January 2001. The Committee has jurisdiction over NASA, the National Science Foundation, and research and development initiatives within the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Commerce. In addition, the Committee has jurisdiction over civil aviation research and development and marine research.
Over the years Boehlert has played a leading role in finding solutions to a wide variety of environmental issues. An early Congressional leader in the efforts to halt acid rain damage, Congressman Boehlert has been at center of efforts to build stronger national environmental policies. In 1995, Boehlert helped form a moderate Republican coalition to defeat a number of regulatory rollback proposals. More recently, the Congressman has been instrumental in getting the $8 billion federal-state Everglades restoration legislation passed, and has spurred increased Federal funding to improve water quality, restore wetlands, and improve soil conservation. Looking to the future, Boehlert has advocated making a start on creating a Second Generation of environmental law, proposing a legislative basis for experimentation on new protection approaches.
“The ELI Award is given annually to honor an individual who has demonstrated a lifetime commitment to environmental protection and exemplary public service,” states ELI President, J. William Futrell. “We are very pleased to honor Congressman Boehlert this year. He is a leader on environmental issues in the House, and a true champion of the environment.”
The list of past recipients reads like a Who’s Who of heroes of the environmental movement. Past winners include Senator Edmund S. Muskie (D-ME), the father of the Clan Air and Clean Water Acts, William D. Ruckelshaus, the founding Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Senators Robert Stafford (R-VT) and John Chafee (R-RI), who helped protect environmental law when it was under assault from political backlash, and Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall and Representative Morris Udall (D-AZ), who were responsible for some of the most important initiatives on natural resources and wilderness protection.
The dinner is a unique event for environmental professionals across the nation, and is traditionally a sold-out event. It is an invitation only event for members of the Environmental Law Institute’s Associates Program and their guests. This year the annual ELI Award Dinner and ceremony will be held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC on October 3, 2002. Senator James M. Jeffords (I-VT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, will deliver the keynote address.
For more information about the dinner or the Environmental Law Institute please contact Tess Doheny, ELI Director of Membership Development at 202-939-3820 or visit our website at http://www.eli.org.